2:00PM Water Cooler 1/13/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, syndemics; Trump transition: Gabbard, Hegseth; “That’s quite an act. What do you call it?” LA fires; Tintin now in the public domain ~
Read more...Category Archives: Guest Post
Links 1/13/2025
Musk, Meloni, and the AfD: Trump’s Plan for Reorganizing EU Vassals Comes into Focus
Meloni offers vassalage to the US under faux nationalist packaging. Musk’s support of the Alternative for Germany shows it might be prepared to do the same.
Read more...The Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE) Lacks Legal Structure and Promised Transparency
DOGE depends on Elon Musk’s charismatic authority. That’s a bad thing.
Read more...Health Care AI, Intended To Save Money, Turns Out To Require a Lot of Expensive Humans
Artificial intelligence systems require consistent monitoring and staffing to put in place and to keep them working well. In essence: You need people, and more machines, to make sure the new tools don’t mess up.
Read more...Weaponizing the US Dollar. Can It Work?
Michael Hudson refines and extends recent discussions on the future of the dollar, particularly under Trump, and finance-dominated capitalism
Read more...Meet the Cats Who Roam Rikers Island
Even cats in a prison setting find human servants!
Read more...2:00PM Water Cooler 1/10/2025
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Politics, Syndemics; New Covid data, Covid and mortality; LA Fires: misinformation; SEIU joins AFL-CIO ~
Read more...“In 2025, States Will Flip the Script on Taxes to Make the Wealthy Pay Their Fair Share”
State-level activists have been building coalitions to implement higher and more extensive taxes on the wealthy. What are their prospects?
Read more...Links 1/10/2025
Where is Guaidó 2.0?
While the old Guaidó lives it up in Florida, at somebody’s apparent expense, the new Guaidó, Edmundo González Urritia, appears to be going nowhere.
Read more...Polish Foreign Minister Worries that Musk Will Successfully Undermine Ruling Liberal Party in Upcoming Elections; Is Another Romania-Style Election Nullification Possible?
Will Musk’s taste for a US favorite, regime change, include 2025 Polish elections? If so, will the answer be Romania-style extreme measures?
Read more...2:00PM Water Cooler 1/9/2025
By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Patient readers, I am now going to take a nap. Enjoy! Bird Song of the Day Brown Thrasher, Theodore Roosevelt National Park – Upper Talkington Trail, Billings, North Dakota, United States. * * * In Case You Might Miss… Trump’s pivotto the Northern Hemisphere. LA Palisades Fire: This is fine. […]
Read more...Beware the Faux Populism of Corporate Democrats
Why the working class needs to make a hostile takeover of the Democrats.
Read more...This Week’s Unholy Mix of Drought, Wind, and Fire in Southern California: A Warning of an Accelerating Insurance Crisis in Climate-Risk Areas?
More and more homeowners are understandably worried about what insurance increases might look like in the face of intensifying climate risks.
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